An Unsuspected Bearer of Conversation
by intoxicatelove
Summary: Chase has two of his weaknesses exposed. What he expects is any attempt at them to be used against him barbarically, but gets one concerned Shoku Leader coming to his citadel.
A/N: I realized I haven't been writing much Chai (as just Chase/Raimundo as opposed to ChaiJack) lately so I came up with his (rather, I asked for ideas). Hope you enjoy!

. . .

 _An Unsuspected Bearer of Conversation_

His citadel has never been colder.

Chase Young struggled to even move in his own domain. He was in such a pain that the feeling felt new to him and all he wanted was for it to diminish. The warlord was weighed down for it was the time of shedding for most reptiles, which undoubtedly included himself. When not in his draconic form, he was unable to shed and therefore when human, felt as if his body was being pressed down by anvils. He wished to spend the day ridding himself of the dirty scales in nothing but a bath mixed with concoctions that would make the shedding easier, however as fate would have it, he sensed a Shen Gong Wu and this was a hunt he'd have to go to just for the importance of the Wu that he would rather have had in his own protection than the monks.

He was not prepared to engage in the Showdown as he thought he would be. It was with Omi, whom wagered his Orb of Tornami and Chase whom wagered his Eagle Scope, along with saying that no Wu would be used as he normally would Rather, the warlord was doing very good in the Showdown (which was a race whilst avoiding several traps to get to the Wu) and was mear inches from the trinket before Omi used the Orb against him, freezing almost his entire body and running past him to get to the Wu.

So there went Chase's Eagle Scope. The monks were probably having a ball using it combined with the Fountain of Hui to gain useless knowledge. He was not worried about them finding a way to truly destroy evil—he'd tweaked the Fountain of Hui with dark magic to make sure it'd never show the true way to do so. Now the warlord suffered a humiliating defeat allthewhile looking like he'd developed frostbite once the Showdown was over.

What was peculiar however, was the Shoku Leader's reaction to Omi's little stunt. Chase recalled the angry and scolding look on his face along with the conversation after Omi.

" _I recall Chase saying no Shen Gong Wu, Omi."_

" _But, Raimundo… He was going to win..!"_

" _That doesn't give you the right to cheat, Omi. That makes you no better than them when they do it."_

" _Listen to yourself, Raimundo! You're defending the ba-"_

" _Omi,_ _ **you**_ _of all people should know not to dishonor any part of a Xiaolin Showdown. It's what you preached when you stopped us from intervening that time with the blind man and the Treasure of the Blind Swordsman."_

 _Raimundo didn't even allow Omi to speak again and turned from him._

" _We're leaving. Let's go, Dojo."_

Rarely ever has the Xiaolin acknowledged those moments where they _knew_ they were wrong and to hear Raimundo actually do so was rather mature of him. Perhaps the status of Shoku Warrior made him more refined with his judgement unflawed. Chase could even say he respected him for that moment but would not speak that to his face. Right now the only thing he was focused on was healing himself before anyone found out his state to use it against him.

He looked at himself through one of his mirrors and frowned. His skin began to peel as if he'd been out in sunlight for far too long and his body just looked and felt unnaturally cold. He turned to make his way to one of his heating pools even slower in movement. A roar from one of his tiger warriors would hinder him again, apparently to tell him that he had a visitor. Mustering all of the strength he had left, he made his way only to be surprised that his visitor was none other than Raimundo, holding the very Wu that he lost in the Showdown.

"I can't give you the new Wu, but I can give you the Eagle Scope back as an apology for that stunt Omi pulled," he said.

Chase ordered one of his warriors to take it from Raimundo's hands and to place it back where he kept the little Wu he actually wanted.

"I do not understand why you would do such a feat even if it was an unjustified win for your side, however, I do thank you. You should be off to your friends before they notice you are gone," Chase responded, a bit rushed in his statement as he did not want the Shoku Leader to notice his state.

"My friends know I am here," Raimundo replied.

This genuinely surprises Chase.

"…Why?" He finds himself asking.

"Because I didn't want them to think anything. It's bad enough they kind of still hold the stunt with Wuya against me…"

"I recall Wuya saying that you were once on her side, however I do not know the details."

Raimundo shrugged. "Omi said some shit that hurt me regarding the fact I didn't reach Xiaolin Apprentice because I didn't protect the Wu when Wuya and Jack created Mala Mala Jong, and I was bad at telling my feelings, so I just left with the Golden Tiger Claws. Wuya caught me off guard. I was vulnerable. I was the one that brought her back to her human form that time back… And I'm still… constantly reminded of that."

 _Utterly pathetic friends the Shoku Warrior has._

Perhaps Chase should remind Omi of his joining him on the Heylin side. That would be bound to make the young monk never utter a word against Raimundo again.

"Shall I remind your friend of his little stunt with me?" Chase asked.

"Forget it," Raimundo started. "The pain of being reminded of mistakes you've done even when you're a better person now isn't anything I would wish on anyone, not even my own friends."

"Spoken like a true Xiaolin," Chase responded. He coughed afterwards, the weight of his body and the cold returning to him.

Raimundo instantly looked worried and rushed over, touching his skin. "What the hell? You're so cold. Come on, we need to get you somewhere warm…"

 _Don't tell me Omi using the Orb got him so cold like this? Damn it…_

"I have a heating pool I was going to before your arrival…" Chase said, pointing in the direction where it would be located and Raimundo helped Chase walk over to the area.

"It wasn't… it wasn't when Omi used the Orb, was it?" Raimundo was almost afraid to ask. He'd definitely lecture his friend yet again when he returned to the temple.

"It was a combination of that and the shedding I am currently going under," Chase replied.

Once reaching his heating form, he instructed Raimundo to step back as he shifted to his draconic form and slowly descended into the pool. Raimundo noticed his shift looked painful and the skin on his form looked as if it were peeling, along with scales that fell off. It reminded him of when Dojo shed that one time a cluster of Wu activated that one time. He shuddered, remembering how gross that was as well.

"So… You shed like Dojo does?"

"Yes," Chase replied. "It can be painful if I do not rid myself of the old scales right away. When I shift to my human form, it feels like my body is unable to move as if it is being weighed down."

"Ah… Alright… but you look like you're in more pain than that…"

"That is because of the cold. I need to heat myself up or the results can be very harmful to me," Chase said as he sank his body save for his head deep into the hot water. He could already feel himself getting warmer and his old scales falling off as they floated to the top of the water.

"I apologize for the seemingly disgusting display of scales."

"Used to it," Raimundo shrugged. "You forget we fly on a mystical dragon that complains about Shen Gong Wu rashes everyday."

Chase chuckled. "Certainly. I also feel the need to warn you that when I shift back to my human form once these dead scales have left my body, I will be bare."

"Ah… do you want me to get you a robe or something, Chase?"

Chase shook his head. "Not necessary, one of my warriors will get it for me once I am done on my command."

Raimundo nodded, finding himself sitting down at the base of the pool. "I hope you don't mind."

"I don't."

While avoiding the scales, Raimundo waved his hand through the water. "Will you be okay after this?"

Chase nodded. "Yes, I will be alright… A part of me is confused as to why you are helping me in such a manor."

"It's the Xiaolin Way," Raimundo shrugged again. "And look, I don't like my friends using tactings people like Jack would do. In fact, since Jack likes you so much, I don't even think _he_ would have done that, which really tells you somethin'. And… I just didn't like it, okay? That's all."

Chase thought on Raimundo's words and simply nodded. "Hm, you have grown to be a respectable person. Perhaps I have misjudged you."

"A lot of people misjudge me dude, it's not new to me."

"Then they should not," Chase responded.

Raimundo prepared to speak before one of Chase's warriors came into the room, placing Chase's robe next to the pool and leaving. Raimundo chose to turn his head.

"You can come out, I won't look."

Chase did so, shifting back to his human form and putting the robe on quickly to hide his bare form.

"I am dressed," he said.

Raimundo turned his face to see Chase wearing a simple black robe tied with a red sash. Raimundo thought he looked rather… handsome… beautiful.. a mixture of the two.

But he couldn't let those thoughts cloud his judgement.

"Alright. So I guess I'll go now," he said.

"Mhm," Chase said. "That would be for the best."

Chase escorted Raimundo to the entrance of his citadel.

"When you leave, we will be enemies once again. Do you have the strength to cope with this?" Chase asked.

Raimundo nodded. "Of course. Nothing changed. I know that."

Raimundo turned to leave.

"One more thing before you go," Chase said, stopping him. Raimundo turned to acknowledge him.

"…Evil does not suit you. You are fine as you are now."

Raimundo's eyes widened briefly, before his eyes slowly closed and a smile crossed his lips.

"Thank you…"

He turned away. He had to leave, had to go back home to his friends, fufill his duties as the Shoku Leader.

But he would never forget Chase's words that put a smile on his face in a way his friends could not.


End file.
